And moments after secretary of state john kerry got finished addressing the nation about the crisis in syria, stocks began to slide on monday, as fears grew in the middle east. And at that region is on the brink. Abc news contributor betty liu is here to explain what this could mean for the u.S. Economy. Overnight, foreign stock markets and futures. You're absolutely right, elizabeth. Investors are jittery. You see that this morning. Stock markets around the world have been hit. The dow here is already down about 4% so far this month. Now, investors are saying, with an economy that's just recovering, this is the last thing we need. It may not be able to handle this shock that may be coming out of syria, rippling on to our shores. Also, after secretary kerry's news conference yesterday, crude oil prices hit a five-month high. So far, the tensions in the middle east have not hit gas prices. But that could soon change. You see oil prices a little bit higher this morning. If these tensions could boil over into other parts of the region, iran, iraq, oil-producing companies, that could have a dramatic impact on gas prices. All of this happening as the forecast that the u.S. May hit its debt limit in october, a month earlier than expected. Some worry about a financial crisis as a result? This is deja vu all over again. We may be maxing out our credit limit six weeks from now. That could be another piece of uncertainty that investors have to deal with. Betty liu, thanks so much.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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